Serena, Venus set up sis match
NEW YORK — Get ready for the latest Grand Slam installment of Williams vs. Williams. One big difference this time: The superstar siblings will meet in the third round at the U.S. Open, their earliest showdown at a major tournament in 20 years.
Serena Williams set up the highly anticipated matchup at Flushing Meadows by hitting 13 aces and overwhelming 101st-ranked Carina Witthoeft of Germany 6-2, 6-2 in a little more than an hour last night. Hours earlier, Venus Williams did her part with another straight-set victory, eliminating 40th-ranked Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 7-5.
“I hope,” Venus said after her match, “we get to play.” Serena made sure of it. They will play tomorrow, and it is going to be their 30th tour-level encounter. It’s also soonest the sisters have played each other at any Grand Slam since their very first tour match at the 1998 Australian Open. Venus won that one. But since then, it’s been the younger Serena who’s grown dominant.
The reason this match comes so early is that their rankings are not what they’ve been in the past. Serena is No.26, playing in only the seventh tournament since she was off the tour for more than a year while having a baby. Even though the U.S. Tennis Association bumped her seeding up to reflect her past success, it still placed her at No. 17. Venus is No. 16.
“It’s so young in the tournament,” Serena said. “We would have rather met later.”
She leads the series 17-12, including 10-5 at majors.
Both have been ranked No. 1. They have won a combined 30 Grand Slam singles trophies, 23 by Serena. They own eight U.S. Open singles championships, six by Serena.
They’ve played each other in the finals of all four Slams, including at the U.S. Open in 2001 (when Venus won) and 2002 (when Serena did).
Seeded women who advanced on another day with the temperature topping 95 degrees included No.7 Elina Svitolina, No.8 Karolina Pliskova, No. 15 Elise Mertens, No.19 Anastasija Sevastova and No.23 Barbora Strycova, all in straight sets.
Past men’s champions Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Dennis Kudla of the U.S., and Stan Wawrinka won, as did 2017 runner-up Kevin Anderson, and No. 11 seed John Isner. Threetime major champion Andy Murray’s first major since hip surgery ended with a four-set loss to No.31 Fernando Verdasco.
During her post-victory news conference, which came long before Serena set foot on court, Venus clearly had little interest in entertaining questions about the possible all-in-the-family match. Later, Venus offered this admonishment about the topic: “You’re beating it up now.”
During her on-court interview, she was joking, though.
“The last time we played, at the Australian, it was two against one,” a reference to the fact that Serena was pregnant when she beat Venus in the 2017 Australian Open final. “At least this time, it’ll be fair.”
Serena looked much more impressive than her sister did. Venus had only 13 winners, while Serena put together a 30-10 edge in winners.
“Normally, I would say cheer for me,” Serena told spectators afterward. “But whoever you’re feeling like, me or Venus, it’ll work.”
Also yesterday, the U.S. Open clarified its rules about players changing shirts during a match a day after a women’s player was penalized for doing so. The tournament regretted the code violation issued to Alize Cornet of France, a ruling that was criticized by players and fans who thought it was unfair to women because male players frequently do it.
Officials said all players now can change their shirts when sitting in the player chair, adding that women can also change their shirts in a private location without being assessed a bathroom break.